This is an improvement relating to the subject matter of co-pending application Ser. No. 664,689, filed Mar. 8, 1976 entitled YARN TENSION DEVICE, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,757 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein and made a part hereof by reference. An improved feature contemplates the provision of compensator means to permit a change of direction in the yarn to cause roller movement up and down within a receptacle to compensate for changes in tension in the yarn. Improvement further contemplates the provision of means for removing lint automatically during the operation of the device to avoid variations in tension produced by the rolls and clogging thereof within the at least partially enclosed receptacles. A further improvement contemplates the use of a yarn tension device provided in the form of magnetic means which may vary the force applied by roller means upon the yarn or rather stated another way, the force required to produce rotation of the rollers by the yarn. Rotation of the rollers by the yarn successively in the stack of rollers is an important feature sometimes utilized by the improvement herein as well as the patent application referred to above. Photoelectric detector means may be provided for detecting a variation in speed of any of the rollers to actuate or provide a portion of stop motion to control the operation of the machine utilizing the tension device. Other improvements contemplate variations in yarn path and variations accommodating multiple strands.